Tamil Nadu’s youngest Covid-19 patient, 10-month-old baby, recovers | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Tamil Nadu’s youngest Covid-19 patient, 10-month-old baby, recovers

Hindustan Times, Chennai | BySowmiya Ashok
Apr 07, 2020 06:18 PM IST

On March 29, the 29-year-old woman was admitted in ESI Hospital, Coimbatore along with the baby, her 58-year-old mother and the family’s domestic help.

A ten-month-old infant, the youngest in Tamil Nadu to test positive for Covid-19 was discharged from a Coimbatore hospital on Monday, has recovered after a 14-day treatment. The child acquired the infection from his 29-year-old mother who works as a doctor for the Southern Railways.

Medics in PPE kits during a demonstration on taking samples from Covid-19 suspected patients at a drive-through test facility in New Delhi.(Sanchit Khanna/HT photo)
Medics in PPE kits during a demonstration on taking samples from Covid-19 suspected patients at a drive-through test facility in New Delhi.(Sanchit Khanna/HT photo)

On March 29, the 29-year-old woman was admitted in ESI Hospital, Coimbatore along with the baby, her 58-year-old mother and the family’s domestic help. The doctor tested positive after treating a 63-year-old man in a railway hospital in Erode. He had travelled along with two Thai nationals who had tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in March.

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“First, the mother tested positive so we thought all other people in the family should also be tested so we admitted them and took a swab test,” the dean of the ESIC Hospital Dr. A. Nirmala told Hindustan Times. “At that time the child was found to be positive. He was allowed to be in the same room as his mother since both of them had tested positive. We closely observed both mother and child and provided counselling services to the mother as well.”

In India, the number of Covid-19 cases has been lowest among the age group of 0 to 20 years, while the maximum number of cases has been reported among those between 21 and 40 years. The casualty rate has been highest in those above 60 years, due to existing co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension and other issues, according to data released by the government last week.

The team of doctors treating the 10-month-old infant knew that if the baby was immunologically competent, secondary problems would not arise. They continued to closely watch the child for other symptoms. “Meanwhile, we were treating the patient with required medicines and also giving nutritional food for baby and members of the family,” the dean said.

“We kept a close watch on the baby and treated him with antibiotics for elevated temperature. We could not put the baby on hydroxychloroquine like we did for the adults. But since the baby was immunised for all other infections, it could have helped (him) get a good immunity.”

All patients were fed a diet of porridge and fruit. “As a baby we took a lot more care of him, he didn’t develop any abnormal symptoms. Finally took the swab test for the family members. All except the doctor’s mother turned out to be negative. We discharged the doctor, the child and the maid, but the 58-year-old mother is still under treatment,” Nirmala said.

Hydroxycholoroquine which is commonly used to treat malaria, arthritis and lupus, among other ailments, has been in the eye of a storm after United States president Donald Trump on Monday warned of retaliation if India did not supply the drug as asked. India, the largest manufacturer and exporter of the drug, initially banned exports on March 25 to ensure adequate domestic supplies. On Tuesday, the Centre decided to allow exports, depending on availability, after stockpiling enough for domestic use.

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